Merry Christmas
by La-Abeja
Summary: WammyHouseCentric. Festive trees light up as frost inches toward Winchester where a myriad of intellectually gifted children eagerly await. Alas, the most adhered to resident receives a most disturbing gift. L, Mello, Near, Matt, Linda, Beyond Birthday


_Merry Christmas_

_Written by La-Abeja_

Tad bit late for Christmas aren't I? I suppose I just didn't feel like putting it up, although I almost did Christmas day. In any case, this is a Christmas gift for Missmune, and I suppose it's time for it to be up. I rather not wait until next Christmas. So, if it pleases you, humor yourself and jump back into the holiday mood for a bit.

This contains slight spoilers for the up-coming i Death Note: Another Note /i . Small however, I don't suppose there are many out there who don't know about Beyond Birthday. Again, nothing large, only his 'appearance'.

Mainly this is my own musings on The Wammy's House's mechanics, with additional Christmas moods. I'm rather fond of Wammy'sHouse!centric

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The Wammy's House, nestled comfortably and unobtrusively in Winchester Britain, is entirely breath taking during the winter months. Quillish resembled in many ways a parental figure with grandfather-like qualities to the children; some simply relieved when he nodded intelligently at their use of previously ordained 'big words'.

The children took to Quillish Wammy as he himself took to the children, a respectful relationship was built, as Wammy was not always a father or a mentor; often times he was a colleague, a friend. He used 'big words' just as often as the intellectually gifted he housed; it was needless to say that they appreciated the gesture.

A result of the compassionate feelings Wammy felt towards his charges, he took many aims to make their stay at The Wammy's House comfortable. As soon as the winter months began inching towards the unsuspecting fall goers, seeping into the ground and injecting its crispness though the grass and up the window panels, the house underwent construction.

Of course the elder children chipped in, after the multiple house aides hauled the large boxes from the attics and heaved the others from the basements. Several others would begin with ornaments, and many of the art inspired children would sit down, or sprawl down, across the floor; scissors snipping with precision at bent paper, creating elaborate miniscule pointed flakes.

"Don't know." A feminine voice replied, her tongue sticking out slightly as she delicately added another microscopic facet to the blooming paper ornament. Linda preferred graphite mediums to paper, preferring the careful procedure of sketching her victim's facial crevices with the utmost care. "I haven't seen him."

The other, also working on a seasonal piece scowled, "As long as he doesn't appear as _me_, again,"

Another snip occurred and Linda shrugged, "He didn't really fool me, you know, he doesn't look like you at all." Both of the girls knew Linda was lying out her teeth, but the other nodded curtly and continued cutting.

Linda was unable to add anything else, it was entirely understandable for the other to be chagrined by the fact Beyond Birthday was able to pull off a shockingly precise portrayal of the girl sitting next to her. Not that it was excruciatingly surprising by any means; the boy had been pulling off brilliant portrayals of The Wammy's House's occupants since he had arrived years ago.

Linda also mused that it wasn't surprising he had managed to pull it off- Beyond Birthday, who also possessed a rather surprising and almost appallingly _ridiculous_ alias (her own happened to belong to her deceased mother; whose name had shared the first letter of her own), also possessed an entirely nondescript appearance. His jaw was not excruciatingly sharp, nor was it characteristically round. He wasn't particularly tall, nor exceptionally short, and along with his lithe form, it was surmised he could take on the exterior of a wide range of subjects.

"In either case, _I_ certainly don't want to see him." Her partner sniffed with obviously repressed feelings, Linda meanwhile nodded nonchalantly- although her body started as another slumped down quickly upon his haunches, peering intently towards both girls.

The surplus paper particles resembling snow became damp as actual snow dripped off the recently appeared other's moist sneakers. He didn't seem overtly bothered.

"_Who_ don't you want to see?" He abruptly asked, light-colored bangs lying idly upon his brow as he clearly invaded their private banter.

"Beyond Birthday." Linda answered for her companion, and watched with visual amusement at the boy's glower.

"You don't like him either, Mello?" The other girl inquired, with her own present glower visible. Linda in the intervening time found herself gazing intently towards Mello; solely out of habit, this in mind it occurred to Linda that she had sketched a majority of the Wammy's House's inhabitants, with certain other residents absent from the dainty sketchbook.

Beyond Birthday was one of these individuals; one reasoning the fact they remained barely acquainted, the other the result that she was not yet assured _who_ it would be she would mimic upon the paper if she were to do so.

An additional happened to be Mello; undoubtedly the reason she presently found her eyes swiftly taking notes of the unique contours of his visage, utterly out of habit. The third individual that came to mind was L, or Law, considering the fact he still resided (most of the time) within the House. The reasoning, however, was that she was merely too timid to inquire.

Linda continued to allow her gaze to scuttle across Mello's visage, and was almost surprised when she found she was not grasping a pencil, nor was she gripping a tablet. Perhaps amused by her own conduct, she reached once more for her intricately designed, and conceivably for that reason, reasonably ironic snowflake, and gently gave supplementary designs.

"No." Mello practically snarled his answer as he scowled and did not offer any additional information to the short answer, not even at the other girl's inquisitive gaze. He did however turn to shoot a sudden hard glance at Linda as she chortled.

Raising a brow at the boy she simply snipped once more upon the paper and asked nonchalantly, "So you were outside?" In all honestly she had little desire to explain the true meaning behind the chortle; the truth being she remembered the exact moment Mello came to despise Beyond Birthday.

It had almost certainly been two years ago, perhaps three, when she had been curled up in one of the comfortable chairs of this very room, sketchbook sitting idly in her lap, when Mello slammed open the adjourning door and stalked emitting fury towards the foyer.

It was doubtful any occupant of the Wammy's House failed to hear the sudden roar as he furiously called for 'Wammy'. Mello was known for over-reacting and moreover a keen and easily set off rage.

A startled Linda, as well as a scattered amount of other occupants, barely had time to question the cause of fury, when Mello had moseyed through the aforementioned door. Well, more to say, a rather different Mello.

The resemblance was jarringly similar, however, there rested the obvious difference: the delighted smile dashed across the mimic's expression.

Needless to say, Mello was furious. Linda would later find the entire occurrence chortle-worthy; however, she remembered that the charade had only become worse as Matt soon appeared, doubtlessly after hearing Mello's exuberantly vocal rants and in attempt to calm his friend, placed a hand upon his shoulder.

Regrettably it happened to belong to the incorrect Mello, and instantly the entire scenario plummeted into another shrieking episode.

"Yeah, we were." Mello stated, crossing his arms although still situated upon his hunches, he was eying Linda with considerable suspicion, which she supposed was entirely grounded. Nevertheless, she felt little desire to explain.

However, the end result was that neither of them continued the discussion, as both of their heads swiveled to look towards the corner of the room, where three quick clicks occurred in succession. Sometime, during their conversation, which admittedly did not contain much, Law had slouched into the room, commandeered a chess table, and was engaging in a game, occupied solely by his lonesome.

It certainly wasn't _strange_ to find Law throughout the House, he simply tended to spend the majority of his time within his own room, where he could procure wedges of cake and evaluate cases, which, ranking the highest within the house, he engaged in alongside Wammy.

Law was a phenomenon, looked upon by the occupants of the Wammy's House as though he occupied the seat of god, or crouched upon the seat of a god. Certainly none of his subjects would raise an opinion on his personal habits, even if they created an atrocious stoop.

Above all, Linda often simply basked at the utter incredulity that she happened to be an occupant of the same abode as Law; L; doubtlessly the greatest detective the world had yet to see, and would see. It seemed ridiculous to imagine a greater mind than that of Law.

Not that the children in Wammy's House were not brilliant in their own right. Any child who took haven in its oaken and polished interior left with a brilliant recommendation. Not that one was truly needed, their own efforts securing a dashing start to their careers; many becoming lawyers, others physicians, procuring doctorates of a wide degree of subjects, and some developed into detectives, such as L.

Not that any of these names had obtained the level of respect which the single initial garnered.

At times it was incredible to note the luck that Wammy kept their true names under lock, key and firewall, especially for those stepping into dangerous careers. Where the inkling to do such a thing came from, one could not guess, however, Linda, and the other occupants, supposed it emerged from Wammy's past endeavors.

Evidently these 'endeavors' were only released with the explanation that he had been a brilliant 'inventor'. This didn't excuse the fact he happened to be a remarkably accomplished marksman.

More clicks rang through the parlor, and Linda stifled a smirk when she realized why exactly Law had decided to venture from his room, this became obvious as his hand reached out and plucked a small festive toffee from the side table situated next to his acquired chair.

Of course, he could have easily taken the small bowl back to his haven, but, Linda supposed even L occasionally didn't loathe company. In any case, he was gaining a bit of attention at this point, and she noticed that a recently materialized Near was peering at the solo game; doubtlessly, she supposed, attempting to improvise a flawless opposition- having lost to L in the game multiple times.

"Oi Near," Mello suddenly drawled out, not surprising Linda in the least as he drew himself up. It was probable he had caught sight of what Near was gazing towards, and Linda surmised he was planning to challenge the other to a game of chess. A day hardly went by when Mello wasn't attempting to beat Near in something or another.

As though sensing the impending game and subsequent argument Matt appeared, he too had slush sticking, and melting, from his sneakers, undoubtedly having taken place in whatever the group of children had decided to occupy themselves in with newly fallen snow upon the ground.

"Oi yourself- come on." Matt replied in lieu of Near, attempting to hedge away from the doubtless to occur arguments; Linda would have chortled again, had the room not fallen quiet, not at anything occurring on Matt's behalf however.

Linda noted that Mello's face had become astonishingly pallid, neither out of surprise nor fear, but out of the usual vehemence he was easy to come to. She didn't give it much thought however, as her head, as well as the rest of the children's, snapped to glance toward Law.

His eyes were rather blank, as per usual, although his attention was turned from the heated game he had laid out, towards the door which the others had been gaping at just a moment before.

Law wasn't especially known for displaying any sort of emotion, yet the small hints, such as the way his toes kneaded at his chair, or the fact his hand had not yet placed the recently procured candy within his orifice, caught them all by surprise.

Their heads snapped once more towards the door, and it was simply uncanny, the resemblance the doppelganger had gone to look remarkably like Law, albeit the unchangeable, making him just smaller than the other elder male.

The room remained stock silent for a moment; Beyond Birthday's irritable actions had always ruffled feathers, however, for him to appear as _Law_ of all people-

"Oh god_dammit_!"

Mello's opinion was immediately shared by the others, who were still glancing in shock, more so as the doppelganger engaged in the most unlike-L behavior ever seen, as he released a giggle and waved, eyes flashing, towards the room.

"Merry Christmas!" he chirped, and although Linda could not accurately surmise what it was that passed through Law's mind at that precise moment, she idly wondered if it was what she was thinking.

Was it really the thought that counts?


End file.
